Kagome's Inner Demon
by Caitie Manda
Summary: What would happen if Kagome developed demon powers? Read to find out.  - Complete -
1. Chapter 1: The Asteroid

Kagome looked out into the starry night sky. As she scanned he stars, a shooting star flew across the sky. "Inuyasha!" she shook her companion who lay beside her.

"Hmm?" He replied, half asleep. He shook off her arm and rolled over. Kagome sighed and turned her brown eyed gaze back to the sky. The comet still raced across the sky, and Kagome was almost completely certain where it was headed.

"Inuyasha! Wake up, please!" She begged, jolting upright. She tried to wait for his response but the comet grew closer. Kagome stood and said, "If you need me, I'll be in the meadow clearing." Inuyasha wiggled his ears lazily to signal that he had heard her.

She scrambled off to the meadow, and followed the faint scent of the flowers on the wind. It grew stronger the closer she got until she arrived in the clearing of ankle-deep white flowers, gasping for breath. Kagome looked up at the sky and saw the comet only a few feet above her, and darted behind a tree.

She heard a loud crash and peeked out cautiously to take a look at the scene. In the middle of the meadow there was a large, charred ring and the ground inside of it had evidently sunken into a crater upon impact. Smoke swirled around it, and there were tiny flames dotting the circle here and there. Kagome, seeing that there was no danger, stepped out from behind her sheltering tree and jogged into the smoke. She looked down into the crater, and saw small chunks of asteroid and debris cradled in the center. Despite the fact that she knew this could be dangerous, Kagome skidded down the slope.

She stopped short in front of the space rock, sank to her knees, and began to sift through the rubble. As she lifted and moved a jagged piece of rock, it slipped in her hands and cut her finger as it fell to the ground. She screamed in surprise and also in pain, and not too long after Kagome heard the rustle of trees as Inuyasha arrived. Ignoring her now bleeding pinkie, Kagome still moved small rock after rock, not quite sure what it was that she was searching for until she came upon one not at all like the others.

It was small, silvery colored, smoothly rounded, almost completely flat, and a milky light shone feebly from it. Kagome reached out to touch it, and as soon as the flesh of her fingertips made contact with the cool, smooth surface of it, a blinding light emerged from it. She squinted her eyes closed, and covered them with her arm. When she opened them again, the strange stone was gone. Kagome stood to her feet and examined her finger.

The blood had clotted, so she had a maroon scab in the cut's place. As she clambered out of the crater, Kagome's head felt as though it were made of lead, and her legs felt like limp spaghetti noodles. She started to feel dizzy, looked up at the sky dazedly, and then, at that moment, she passed out.


	2. Chapter 2: New Beginnings

Kagome moaned groggily and forced her heavy eyelids to open.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha asked, looking over at her.

"Hmm?" Kagome replied, sitting up and stretching her arms. She was acutely aware of the fact that her senses of hearing and smell were sharper than usual. She could hear the water trickling lazily in the nearby river, an owl hooting somewhere off in the distance, and the high-pitched song played by the crickets. She could smell the fresh dew on the grass, the richness and dampness of the soil, and the strong, sweet scent of the flowers in the clearing.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha repeated a confused expression upon his face.

"What is it, Inuyasha?" Kagome questioned, turning her gaze to him.

"Uh…what's up with your ears?" He asked nervously, standing up and stretching his legs.

"What are you…" Kagome began, trailing off, and feeling the sides of her head. Except there was one problem. Her ears weren't there. "W-what's going on, Inuyasha? What did you do to me?"

"Instead of blaming me for something I didn't do, check the top of your head." He replied irritably. Kagome felt along the top of her head until her fingers came upon the pointed ears to which Inuyasha was referring. Her breath became very faint as she felt them, pulling at the soft tips. "It hurts to be wrong, doesn't it?" Inuyasha asked matter-of-factly.

Kagome started to hyperventilate as her panic began to heighten. She fell to her knees and dug through her backpack for her mirror. She found it and sighed in relief, then snapped it open. She stared at her reflection in disbelief.

The ears that sprouted from her head looked a lot like Inuyasha's in shape and size but were black like her hair and the tips were white. Her jet black hair had erupted with silver streaks, her brown eyes had become speckled with amber, plus her human teeth had been replaced by sharper demon fangs. She glanced down at her fingernails, which had gone from short human stubs to pointed demon claws. Kagome murmured, "I…I look kind of like-"

"A hanyou?" Inuyasha interrupted, walking over to her. She looked up at him over her shoulder.

"That's not what I meant. You know that. Kagome said gently, putting the compact mirror away. She stood to her feet and faced him. In an attempt to comfort him, Kagome placed a slender, clawed hand on Inuyasha's shoulder. He shrugged away from her, walked a few feet away from her, and sat crisscrossed in the grass, his back to her.

"Gather your things," He grunted.

"Why?" Kagome asked, confused by the scene that had unfolded before her.

"We need to keep moving. I think we should ask Kaede about this." Inuyasha replied dismissively. Kagome couldn't believe his bad mood. She wasn't in the best of moods either, though, because of him.

About thirty minutes later, Kagome finished packing up. She put her backpack on her back, and her sleeping bag under her arm. Her bicycle had been lost somewhere in the feudal era, so she usually had to walk. Occasionally Inuyasha would allow her to ride upon his back; however it seemed that she was on her own this time.

They walked in silence for a lot of the trip until, not being careful, Kagome's foot caught on a rock and she fell. Inuyasha only stopped and glanced at her over his shoulder. Her ankle was in an awkward position, and when she tried to stand she winced in pain. Inuyasha, sensing that she was hurt, was at Kagome's side in an instant. "Let me see your ankle, Kagome." He said in a surprisingly light voice.

"I-I'm fine," She cringed as she tried to walk on her throbbing ankle. She noticed that Inuyasha wasn't buying into her act, however, so she said in a reassuring tone, "Really, I'm okay." Kagome still tried to walk and ignore her ankle, which was beginning to feel like it was on fire.

"You're a really bad liar," Inuyasha laughed, rushing up and catching her arm as she stumbled and almost tripped again. She looked up into his face, into his deep amber eyes that reflected his humor and genuine concern. She began to blush and turned away, willing it to vanish. "Let me help you." He said softly, helping her regain her balance on her feet but holding her around the waist to help support her.

Kagome leaned towards him, accepting his assistance, and sighed, looking up at him, "Okay." He smiled and picked her up tenderly, holding her to his chest bridal style. "Thank you, Inuyasha." Kagome said awkwardly.

"You're welcome, but you don't have to thank me." He responded, laughter in his voice.

"Inuyasha?"

"Yes?"

"Are – or were – you upset with me?" Kagome asked.

"I was upset earlier, but not with you. I'm sorry I took out my anger on you."

"You don't need to apologize to me," Kagome said sincerely, "but I appreciate it. You are forgiven."

"Why did you scream last night?" Inuyasha inquired.

"Because I have butter fingers," She replied, giggling at herself.

"Butter fingers?"

"Yeah, it means clumsy hands."

"Ah. Why would you suggest such a thing about yourself?"

"Because it's true of course!"

"How so?" Kagome didn't know exactly what to say after he asked such a question, but continued with her story.

"I was looking through the rubble from the asteroid," she paused, seeing he didn't know what she was referring and explained, "an asteroid is a space rock. That's what we call them in my time."

"I see."

"Anyway, I was sifting through the debris from the asteroid when I picked up a jagged piece with a sharp edge. I accidentally dropped it, and it cut my finger."

"Let me see." Inuyasha demanded, stopping. Kagome held out her left hand, and showed him her pinkie. "What cut are you talking about? There's nothing there." Kagome didn't understand it. The cut was there just last night. She examined her left pinkie, and where the cut had been just last night was nowhere to be seen.

"It's gone. How weird," Kagome murmured.

"You must heal fast because you have some demonic power in you. Since you looked normal yesterday, but today you look more like a hanyou, then I want to know what you saw last night that might have caused this." Inuyasha ordered, beginning to run again.

"Well…" Kagome began, thinking long and hard about the asteroid until one thing popped into her head, "maybe it was the strange silver rock."

"What do you mean?" Inuyasha asked.

"After I cut my finger, I still kept looking through the bits of space rock, and I came across this silvery stone. It glowed faintly, and when I touched it there was a bright white flash and it was gone."

"Maybe the rock had some kind of demonic power, and when you touched it, it entered your body through your cut." Inuyasha concluded.

"That's…brilliant. I'm surprised that never occurred to me." Kagome said unbelievingly as she looked at her pinkie. They continued on for the remainder of the day with little to no chatter, until sunset.

"It's time to make camp for the night." Inuyasha declared, treading into a forest. He walked until he came upon a clearing. Kagome had fallen asleep in his arms, exhausted after a long day of travel, so he lay her down gently in the grass for a few minutes while he unrolled and prepared her sleeping bag. Inuyasha picked her back up and placed her carefully inside of it. He zipped up the side then went off to find some firewood.

Kagome's ears twitched as he leapt from tree to tree, and she shot up from her slumber. She listened as he picked up round, large twigs from the ground and snapped of branches from trees deep in the recesses of the forest. She waited for him to return, and startled him as he walked back into camp. "You're awake." He said, laying the wood in the center of the clearing on a circle of dirt, and then surrounding it by a circle of stones. Kagome nodded, and got out of her sleeping bag to help him. She used a match to start the fire, and then threw it in. "How is your ankle feeling?" Inuyasha asked, sitting against a tree trunk.

"It seems to be back in order." Kagome replied, sitting beside him. She yawned tiredly and lay her head on his shoulder. Inuyasha blushed, but didn't pull away. "Inuyasha?"

"Yes, Kagome?"

"If you did get a hold on the Shikon no tama, would you still want to use it to become a full demon?"

"Maybe." He replied thoughtfully, resting his head upon hers.

"Well you shouldn't. I like you just the way you are." Kagome stated, staring out at the flames. Inuyasha merely chuckled, and they both fell into a contemplative silence. Before long, Kagome was asleep, and so was Inuyasha.

***Author's Note***

_Sorry about the shortness for this chapter, but I said what I thought should've happened. Also, sorry about all the mushy-gushy stuff but there needed to be a few cute moments between Inuyasha and Kagome, don't you think? More chapters are on the way and __**PLEASE**____keep reviewing!_


	3. Chapter 3: Sunrise

Kagome awoke before Inuyasha, and just before sunrise. Inuyasha's head was shifted off to the other side, so she had no trouble getting free. She ran with a new demonic speed that her weak human form would never have been able to reach, until she reached a cliff near the edge of the forest. She sat down Indian style, and watched the sun slowly peek above the horizon. It painted the sky with purples, blues, oranges, pinks, yellows, and reds, and the colors danced across the sky. Kagome leaned back and lay on her back, arms outstretched with her hands beneath her head.

She sighed, very relaxed in this peaceful atmosphere, until she heard the grass beside her rustle a little. She rolled onto her side, propping her head on her hand, and looked straight into the amber eyes of Inuyasha. "The sunrise is beautiful, isn't it?" he asked, leaning back. Kagome followed suit and they both lay on their backs looking at the sky.

"Yes, it is." Kagome replied softly.

"When I'm out watching the colors smear across the wide expanse of sky, it puts me in my most thoughtful mood." Inuyasha said, watching the colors intently, a look of utmost serenity upon his face.

"Indeed." Kagome agreed.

"When you watch the sun rise early in the mornings like this, what do you think about?" Inuyasha queried.

"Many things."

"Like what?"

"Like…"Kagome began, rolling onto her side to face him and stretching her arm out in front of her, "my family, my friends…"

"Anything else?" Inuyasha continued, still looking up at the sky.

"Yes, I suppose I could think of other things." Kagome answered quietly.

"Hmm…"

"Inuyasha?" Kagome began, waiting for his response.

"Yes, Kagome?"

"What are you thinking about right now?"

"Many things."

"Like what?" they both laughed a moment at the recycled words, until Inuyasha finally continued.

"I think about…memories, people, places…" he replied wistfully.

"Do you ever think about Kikyo?" Kagome asked.

"Sometimes," He said. He turned on his side and looked at Kagome, "but also sometimes I think about other people. From time to time I also think about my mother, father, and others."

_ "I feel so bad for him. Both of his parents died, and he never even met his father."_ Kagome thought to herself in pity for him. She held his amber eyed gaze for a long moment, and something weird stirred inside of her stomach; she had butterflies though she didn't know why. What was this feeling she was having? All of a sudden, at the spur of the moment, tears began to form in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Inuyasha asked tensely, jolting up.

"N-nothing." Kagome replied, her voice quivering. She swallowed the verge to cry, and there was a large knot in her throat begging to burst.

"Kagome," Inuyasha said gently, pulling her up by the shoulders. Kagome opened her mouth to say something, but before any words could come out, the tears that had threatened her broke loose and trailed down cheeks. "Please don't!" Inuyasha begged, shaking her. Kagome couldn't help it, and the tears wouldn't stop. She turned away from him, put her face in her hands, and ran back to camp crying the whole way.

By the time that Inuyasha had arrived she had stopped. _"What has gotten into me?"_ She asked herself. _"Why did I cry back there?"_ Kagome had already gotten camp packed up, and was ready for another day's journey.

"Are you ready to go?" He inquired, walking over to her and picking up her rolled up sleeping bag.

"Yes, and you don't have to carry that." Kagome replied lightly, reaching to take it back.

"I know, but I want to." Inuyasha said. "No more twisted ankles, okay?" He joked, mischief gleaming in his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Kagome laughed, throwing her backpack straps over her arms. They began the next part of the journey back to Kaede's village, mostly in silence.

"Hey, Kagome, I'm starting to get a little hungry." Inuyasha stated.

"Yeah, so? We need to keep moving. We can stop to eat later." Kagome replied.

"I don't think so." He said, grabbing a hold of her backpack. She tried to keep walking forward but he held her in place. "You got any ramen in here?"

"Inuyasha…" Kagome said, her voice laced with irritation, "sit boy!" His grip was gone immediately and she heard him smack to the ground with satisfaction. She kept walking forward as if she hadn't even noticed.

"Why you…" Inuyasha growled, peeling himself off the ground. He bounded back in front of her path, succeeding this time in grabbing her backpack from her. He began to run away greedily with it into the trees.

"Still haven't learned your lesson yet, I see. Inuyasha, SIT BOY!" Kagome yelled, stamping her foot. His body hit the ground with a profound thud, and a large puff of dirt flew up around him. But Kagome wasn't finished yet. She marched up as he tried to stand back up again, and screamed, "Sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, SIT!" She had said the word so many times that there was a hole in the ground where Inuyasha had struck the ground. He held the backpack up out of the hole as a signal of his surrender. "Thank you." Kagome said pleasantly, walking off.

"Why that stupid little wench…" Inuyasha muttered under his breath, climbing out of the hole.

"What was that?" Kagome called, having heard her with her new profound sense of hearing. Inuyasha stiffened at her words, forgetting that she didn't have the weak human perceivance of sound that she used to.

"N-nothing! I said nothing!" Inuyasha cried back. He dashed to catch up with her, and he walked alongside her in aggravated silence.

The corners of Kagome's mouth lifted in a smirk, "That's what I thought."

***Author's Note***

_Phew! I got the first three chapters finished, and there are still more to come. Sorry about the length of them…hope you've enjoyed them so far! The other chapters will be posted as soon as I have time to write them. Until then, keep writing reviews! I want some constructive criticism, so if you liked it, review it, if you didn't, review it, and especially if you have any ideas you want me to take under consideration for future chapters, __**PLEASE **__make sure to write them in your reviews! Arigato! :3_


	4. Chapter 4: Unspoken Thoughts

Kagome and Inuyasha had trekked all day in the unforgiving, sweltering sun and they had reached a village by sunset. It was a small farming village, and there were little to no people out and about. As Kagome peeked around for a place to stay the night, Inuyasha's ears flicked up. "What is it, Inu-" Kagome began to ask, but she was shushed by Inuyasha. He held a finger to his lips, signaling silence. He took a long, deep sniff of the air.

Kagome had unspoken questioning in her eyes and written across her face as Inuyasha turned to her. He then said the one word that explained it all. "Demons." Kagome took a whiff of the air, smelling the rancid odor of a filthy demon, and the scent was wafting towards them on the wind from the rice fields.

"That way." Kagome instructed, pointing with a pointed nailed finger in the direction of the field. They nodded to each other and ran en route for the demon.

Kagome reached the point first. She was enclosed by dug and torn up rice plants, and the soil had long, deep claw markings in them. Inuyasha finally arrived, and stood beside Kagome as they surveyed their surroundings. "Inuyasha," Kagome whispered cautiously, "I think the demon is either inside a forcefield or somehow invisible."

"Hmmm," Inuyasha murmured, "well then, I guess it's time he comes out." He reached for the hilt of his sword, pulling out the Tetsaiga from its sheath. Now, much louder than before, with a challenging smile upon his face Inuyasha sneered, "The only question I have is this: is this weakling coming out of hiding before I tear it to shreds or will I get to have a little fun with it?"

"As if! A puny pup such as you could never defeat me, nor could your little hanyou girlfriend." A deep, raspy voice laughed, directly in front of Inuyasha.

"Oh," Inuyasha chuckled, "so I see I get to have some fun with this. It's about time I have a real challenge," he lifted his sword above his head, then shouting as he brought it back down, "ADAMANT BARRAGE!" His sword turned blue, as if it were made of diamonds or blue crystals, and sharp fragments of crystals flew out of it. They shot into a little bubble in the air, and a bright crack appeared as if the attack had cut the air itself. The shield around the demon shattered into billions of pieces that disappeared as fast as they flew apart.

The unsightly demon was a deep shade of bluish maroon, with green horns sprouting from its scaly head. It looked like a large centipede, fish, and bull combined, with a long body like a centipede, scales like a fish, plus horns and nose ring like a bull. It had oval shaped eyes with yellow slits for pupils, and its ugly eyes glittered with anticipation. "That was a good attack, but I doubt you'll get in another!" It taunted, trying to strike Inuyasha like a cobra.

"Was that supposed to inflict damage upon me?" Inuyasha jeered. "Here's one I know'll get you, though." He raised his sword above his right shoulder, then, as he drew it back down, yelled, "WIND SCAR!" The demon had no chance of escape, and the hit killed him right away, slicing him into pieces. Inuyasha put his sword back into its sheath, as if he did nothing whatsoever, then used the back of his hand to wipe the sweat that had formed from his forehead.

"Good job!" Kagome commented as they walked back.

"It was nothing really. It was too easy a defeat," he paused briefly for a moment, and finally finished, "and to think I was hoping for a challenge. Feh!"

"I'm just surprised how quickly that went!" Kagome said happily.

"I understand that I'm amazing when it comes to fighting-" Inuyasha broke off as Kagome cleared her throat in the middle of his gloating, so he continued on a different note, "but anyway, I think we need to focus on something a little more important. I dunno about you, Kagome, but I would really enjoy sleeping _inside_."

_"How rude! Urgh, why does he have to be such a jerk?"_ Kagome thought to herself, a disgusted expression upon her face as he admired his sword. "Ahem." Inuyasha turned his attention.

"Yes, oh queen of my life?" Inuyasha asked with sarcastic innocence.

_"I'm just going to pretend he didn't say that."_ Kagome thought, annoyed by his juvenile behavior. Just as she opened her mouth to say something, a man ran up to them, dressed in nice clothing and asked, "Are you two the ones who defeated the demon in the fields?"

"Yes," Kagome said hurriedly, before Inuyasha could say anything self-absorbed.

"Then as my treat, unless you have somewhere else to stay, how about you stay at my home? I'm the landlord of this village, and I just couldn't allow heroes like yourselves to go unnoticed."

"We'd love to! Thank you for such kind hospitality." Kagome replied, appreciation rich in her voice. "I'm Kagome, by the way." She gestured towards Inuyasha, "This is Inuyasha."

"My name is Tamotsu. Follow me and I will lead you to my house." Tamotsu said, bowing quickly. We followed him up a hill that was elevated just so above the village, and it had a perfect view of all the huts and fields. He must have seen them fighting the demon from up there, Kagome had concluded. Once again she thanked him as he led her to her room, and then he was off to bring Inuyasha to his.

They had dinner about an hour or two after Kagome and Inuyasha had gotten settled in, and they were served a feast of rice, sushi, chicken, soup, and noodles. Inuyasha got a lot of everything, and he slurped up the noodles as if it was going to be his last meal. Kagome nibbled on a little of the rice and chicken, and claimed that she was finished. Tamotsu followed her out as she walked to her room. "Kagome, would you like for me to show you the gardens?" Kagome listened for just a moment, and noticed that Inuyasha's violent slurping of noodles had stopped.

"Yes, I think that is very kind of you." She agreed. He led her out of the house through the back, and he brought her through a meadow of beautiful cherry blossom trees. There was a pond in the midst of all this, and koi fish jumped out of the water every now and again. Down the middle of the pond there was a bridge, and Tamotsu led Kagome to it. "Your garden is very lovely."

"Thank you," Tamotsu smiled, but then his face went serious as he continued, "but I unfortunately have no one to share it with."

"That is too bad, my lord," Kagome sighed, resting her elbow on the wooden railing of the bridge and laying her chin on her palm, "your garden is very lovely." She repeated.

"Would you care to…" Tamotsu opened his mouth to say more, then closed it again, turning away and blushing.

"Whatever is the matter my lord?" Kagome inquired, turning to him.

"I was wondering if…"

"Yes?"

"What does this Inuyasha fellow mean to you?"

"Well," Kagome blushed at the question, a billion different things popping into her mind, "I guess we're friends but…"

"I see. I understand, lady Kagome." Tamotsu sighed sadly. He quickly changed the subject and said, "Don't you think it's a tad cold out here? I wouldn't like for either of us to catch a chill."

"I can agree, Tamotsu. Let's go inside, then." Kagome said, making her way to the back door.

"Well that couldn't have gone any more wrong…" Tamotsu mumbled, trailing a few paces behind Kagome.

**Inuyasha**

Inuyasha was in his room, listening as hard as he could to what Kagome and Tamotsu might be saying. Kagome had told him that 'his garden was lovely' and he had replied 'yes, but I unfortunately have no one to share it with.' Inuyasha was suspicious of that man. Even though he had opened his home up to Kagome and himself, but Inuyasha knew better. All Tamotsu wanted was Kagome, and Inuyasha would not allow that.

He paced in his room, pondering on another topic of their conversation. Tamotsu had asked, 'What does this Inuyasha fellow mean to you?' and when he had done so, Inuyasha had actually held his breath to hear Kagome's reaction, but she trailed off with a simple, 'Well…'. Inuyasha wanted to know what she thought. He wanted to know if…no. This feeling of anxiety, of nervousness at even the mere thought of Kagome, he had to be imagining it. Why did he care what she thought?

Because, maybe, just maybe he…no, Kagome would never have that. Inuyasha knew better than to think of such things. He was up arguing with himself long after Kagome and Tamotsu were asleep, so he let himself out of his room. He just wanted to…check up on her. That was all. There was no harm in that, right?

Inuyasha slid her screen door open, stepped in, then closed it again. He looked at how peacefully she was sleeping. He sat by her a moment, and took in a deep whiff of her scent. She smelled of roses, fresh morning dew, and of the rich scent of the earth. He watched as she inhaled deeply, and her body rose, and as she exhaled slowly and softly, and her body fell again. What was he doing here, anyway? Why did he need to check on her? She could take care of herself now that she was a hanyou and possessed more than just her miko powers.

He figured that all these feelings he was having were just a product of sleep deprivation, and perhaps, if he had a full night's rest, they would disappear. He followed his own advice and made his way back to his own bed, dismissing all thoughts from his mind, and forcing himself to go to sleep. One last thought slipped his mind, but he closed his eyes as if that would make it leave. As soon as he settled down enough, Inuyasha settled into sleep.


	5. Chapter 5: Full Moon

Kagome sat by the window, in the light of the full moon. This was apparently when she turned human; she was defenseless. Her long, pointed claws had become short human stubs, her dog ears had been replaced by human ears, with her weak human hearing and all, her fangs had been switched out with human teeth, and her silvery streaked hair had turned fully raven black again. Yes, of course she still had her miko powers, but the thrill of having demon powers was gone for the night.

"I feel so useless!" Kagome exclaimed in a hushed tone, slamming her fist down on the wooden board floor.

"Well don't," Inuyasha said, touching her lightly on the shoulder. Kagome jumped, startled.

"Why do you say that?" Kagome asked, turning to look into his amber eyes. She choked on her breath as she inhaled. He looked so handsome…the moonlight pooled into the room, bathing him in a milky white light, and his chin was angled just so. Kagome shook her head as if to shake these thoughts away and repeated, "Why do you say that?"

Inuyasha chuckled a little, a rare sound, and replied, You've never been COMPLETELY useless, Kagome."

"What do you mean 'completely'? What kind of cruelty are you getting at, anyway?" Kagome cried, turning her entire body away from him. "Inuyasha," she said calmly, "SIT!"

He smacked the floor loudly, "Hey!" he yelped. As he got back up and sat where he was again, he yowled irritably, "Would'ja PLEASE stop doing that?" Kagome merely smiled to herself, however said nothing. Inuyasha leaned forward to see her face, then back again. He raised up above her head, leaned around to her left, to her right, and he always moved back again.

Kagome rolled her eyes at his immaturity, and quietly murmured, " Sit boy." Then, she stood up, her hands balled up into fists due to her agitation, and led herself out of the room to the guest room where she was staying, for the final night, in Tamotsu's house.

She lay in bed for a little while, angry with Inuyasha for what he'd said to her. "'You've never been COMEPLETELY useless, Kagome.'" She imitated, "Feh! What a baka. What does he know?" Kagome rolled over onto her side and huffed, "He's so childish!"

Because of her human hearing and sense of smell, Kagome hadn't noticed that Inuyasha had been just outside her door, standing in the hallway as she ranted on and on and on, eavesdropping. "Childish?" He questioned, "Why would she think that?" Inuyasha sat down, cross-legged, and continued to listen. Kagome fell silent eventually, but tears began to well up in her brown eyes. "What is that smell? Is that…" he took a deep whiff to reassure himself, "tears? Why is she crying?"

Kagome let her tears of anger, frustration, and hurt fall, and they glided over her face and soaked into the pillow. She started to cry quietly, so as to not let Inuyasha hear, and let the shaking spasms take over as she tried to inhale. Eventually she cried herself to sleep, and as soon as Inuyasha heard her slow, steady breathing of peaceful sleep, he resigned himself, finally, to his own bed.

***Author's Note***

_Okay, I know this is too short to even be called a chapter, but I have a good explanation. I chopped this chapter in half, and I'm saving the other half for a later chapter in the story. But still…it could've been longer. I just got finished with chapter six as well, so they'll be up ASAP! Arigato._


	6. Chapter 6: Kagome's First Battle

**-Quick Author's Note:**

_I usually don't write these at the beginning of chapters, but I had to for this one. This chapter is dedicated to one of my BFFs, Hales. Thanks so much for all of your good ideas that helped inspire this chapter! _

It was the night of the new moon. Inuyasha was powerless, so if a demon came upon them Kagome would have to suffice as a protector. Inuyasha sat with his back to her, and Kagome got the feeling that he was jealous. "What's the matter Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, sitting beside him. She lightly touched his shoulder, but he wrenched away and turned the other way.

"Keh." He scoffed, pointing his nose in the air with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"Please don't get upset, Inuyasha," Kagome pleaded, "I don't want you to be mad at me." He merely brushed off her remarks as if she had said nothing. Kagome just sat there in silence, staring at his raven-black hair, waiting. She was waiting for him to do something…say something. Anything at all. But he said nothing, and he did nothing. Kagome sighed, giving up, and started to walk away when she felt something tug at her. "Let me go, Inuyasha."

"I didn't touch you," Inuyasha growled, standing up.

"Well something just pulled on my skirt." Kagome stated uneasily. She sniffed the air…her nose crinkled in disgust. She could smell filth and garbage, a good tell-tale sign that a demon is nearby. "There's a demon close by. I'm going to investigate, and if I have to, I will have my first real close combat fight."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Inuyasha avowed, shaking his head, "You're not going after any demons. You don't even know how weak or strong it is!"

"Since when did you get to decide for me?" Kagome questioned threateningly, "I'm going after that demon, Inuyasha."

"Fine, but I'm coming with you." Inuyasha sighed. Kagome, for the first time, had Inuyasha on her back (despite the argument they'd had, he eventually agreed that it would be faster if they traveled as such) as they dashed to the demon. Kagome's nose wrinkled once again in revulsion, the stench of muck and grime filling her finely tuned nostrils.

"Bleh!" Kagome squeaked, pinching her nose together. Inuyasha couldn't smell it but understood from years of these kinds of smells to understand full well what she was talking about. She glanced around, spotting the youkai in a tree. It leapt lightly to its feet , its full height about fifteen feet tall. It resembled a large tiger, and it hissed at Kagome as it circled around her_. "How am I supposed to fight if I don't know my own powers?" _Kagome thought for the first time, sizing up her opponent. _"It doesn't look like it will be very hard to defeat, however." _

All of a sudden, she stood stiff as a board, and her eyes rolled back in her head. As Kagome's eyelids snapped shut, she began to shake as a sort of movie played before her eyes. She foresaw the moves of the battle, and jolted back into reality with a shudder. She knew how this would end, but it could change if she willed it to. "Are you just going to stand there all day?" Inuyasha asked, half nervously and half with annoyance laced into his voice. Kagome ignored him and turned to face the demon.

She held out her hand and flexed her fingers, and for a split second they looked to be made of a silvery metal. With a half smirk playing at the edge of her lips she cried, "SHATTERED IRON!" She made a swift movement with her left hand, as if she had clawed the air, when dozens of pieces of iron erupted from her fingertips. They sliced into the demon, but only barely. Her job wasn't over yet.

It roared in pain, and swatted at her with razor-sharp claws. It managed to make a large tear down her right sleeve and cut her arm. Kagome smelled her blood, and looked and saw it oozing ever so slowly from her arm. She brushed over it with her left hand, getting a crimson liquid on her fingers as she wiped the blood away. She flicked it off, turning to face her antagonist once again. She had a quick rerun of her vision in her head, and was once again ready to battle.

Kagome knelt to the ground and, arm bent at the elbow, raised a fist above her head. As she brought it back down with amazing speed, she yelled, "EARTHEN RIPPLE!" As her hand made contact with the ground, the force of the punch sent water-like ripples across the battlefield, knocking her rival off its feet like a bowling pin. She got up, brushed herself off, and slowly raised her hands to the sky. Dark storm clouds appeared overhead out of nowhere, and Kagome was being lifted off the ground. Her body was hovering about ten feet off the ground, wind circling her feet.

Her head was tilted upward, though her eyes were closed, and when her head snapped down again her eyes glowed bright white. Her hair was blowing all about her in disarray, and thunder sounded. Lightning streaked across the sky, and two beaming balls of overflowing energy formed in her palms. Kagome's attention was directed at the demon, and it trembled in fear as it got up to face her again. It did not back down, however.

The energy swelled until it was about the size of a softball, and Kagome began to bring her hands together. She united the two balls of energy at her chest, forming an orb of overflowing energy the size of a basketball. With this being its fullest, Kagome finally released it, and it flew out of her hand like a sacred arrow and hit its target. The demon was enveloped by a bright light, and after it had faded away there was nothing left to even show that it had been standing there only moments before.

Kagome sighed heavily. Her eyes began to close, blocking out the bright light in them, and her body went limp. The storm clouds began to diminish and shrink away, and Kagome began to fall from the sky. Inuyasha just barely made it to her, and caught her before she hit the ground. She lay there in his arms unconsciously, and he carried her back to their camp. She had such unbelievable power…Inuyasha had never seen anything like it before in his life.

As he laid her inside her sleeping bag and covered her up, she said something very quietly. "What is it, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked anxiously, sitting by her side.

"Inuyasha…" She said in a low undertone, rolling over. Inuyasha was about to continue speaking when he realized that she was talking in her sleep. "Inuyasha…" she repeated, louder this time.

He leaned forward and whispered softly in her ear, "I'm here for you, Kagome. You will be okay." Inuyasha pulled back up and watched her, and a small grin spread across her face.

"Here…for me…?" she mumbled, exhaling deeply. Inuyasha, not able to stop himself, leaned forward, brushed her bangs from her forehead, and kissed her forehead lightly. Kagome rolled onto her side, and her hand was reaching out for something. Inuyasha watched with interest as she felt around the ground until her hand came upon his. She took it and pulled it to her chest, holding it tightly.

Inuyasha colored deeply, trying to pull his hand away, but her grasp was too strong for his human strength. If he had his demon powers he could easily take his hand from hers, but…would he really have wanted to? At the moment she wasn't harming him, so he would allow her to rest peacefully. "Sleep well, Kagome." Inuyasha murmured.

Kagome rolled onto her other side, pulling his arm with her. He had his arm wrapped around her. She lifted her head and rested it gently on his arm subconsciously while she dreamt of him, and Inuyasha was comforted by this gesture somehow. He couldn't let this moment end tonight, he decided. He embraced this, he…he_ wanted_ this.

Inuyasha peeled himself slowly from her, and gently shook her awake. "Hmm…?" Kagome said sleepily.

"Kagome…" She detected the worry in his tone, and sat up, blinking the exhaustion away.

"Yes, Inuyasha?" Kagome replied drowsily.

"I…" Inuyasha trailed off, not knowing where to begin.

"You…?" Kagome asked sluggishly, trying to keep her heavy eyelids open.

"I…" He hesitated. Now was his moment. He was going to tell her he loved her, and he meant it. Inuyasha watched as Kagome yawned tiredly, and finally continued, "I…I think you need to get some rest."

"So you woke me-" She paused briefly to yawn, "to tell me that I need some rest?" Inuyasha merely nodded mutely. Kagome shrugged and laid her head back down on her pillow. As soon as her eyes were shut, she was out like a light. Inuyasha sat by the fire, wondering why he'd said what he did instead of what he really wanted to. He pondered this for a long while, and finally settled into a restless sleep after all the embers of the fire were flickering out.

***Author's Note***

_Hey readers! So how was that chapter? What did you think of her new demon powers? Also, what do you suspect is going on in Inuyasha's mind right about now, and why? Please review and tell me what you thought! Arigato!_


	7. Chapter 7: Koga and the Arrow

Inuyasha had been restless all night. With little sleep, he decided that it would be best if he and Kagome started their trip early, so that they could reach Kaede's village before sun-high. It was a few hours before dawn, so the sun hadn't risen yet, and he was still in his human form. Inuyasha picked up a few of Kagome's things that had been laying around, such as a hairbrush, hair bands, and lotion, and put them carefully into her backpack. He had to be very quiet, because she was still asleep and most likely extremely weak after such a powerful display of energy from that night.

She lay incredibly motionless, and was unconscious even now. Kagome was snuggled deeply into her sleeping bag, and her head was rested on an outstretched arm. Her long raven and white streaked hair flowed around her in an elegant little swirl, coming to a soft tip at the end near her fingertips. Inuyasha pulled a yellow backpack strap over his left arm to his shoulder, then looked to Kagome to decide a way to transport her. He couldn't wake her, that he was certain, and he couldn't carry her on his back because she wouldn't be able to hold onto him while she was asleep. Inuyasha sat cross legged in front of her, deep in concentration. Finally, he had an idea. He picked the slumbering girl up off the ground and tossed her over his right shoulder, holding onto her back as he walked.

Kagome's ears went in and out of focus as she began to wake up. She could tell that she was being carried away, but her mind was still so groggy that she couldn't sniff them out. Kagome's eyes were still closed, but her senses were slowly getting more alert. In the distance, about a mile off, she could hear a whirlwind, and it was moving fast. _"Koga."_ She moaned in her head, an image of the brown haired, ponytailed wolf demon flashing before her eyelids.

Kagome could feel the feet beneath her come to a stop, and heard a heavy sigh. Her arms, which dangled in front of her, and her feet, which dangled behind her, bounced around a little on her carrier's body. Her stomach, holding her over someone's shoulder churned at the thought of him. Her eyelids fluttered open, and she got a faceful of Inuyasha's red kimono. Kagome's hair was facing the ground, away from her shoulders. "Inuyasha?"

"Hm?" Inuyasha replied, half growling in annoyance.

"Can you put me down, please?" Kagome asked. Without saying a word, Inuyasha set Kagome down gently on her feet, then whipped around just as Koga ran in.

"Hey beautiful," He said softly into Kagome's ear as he rushed to her side with his hands wrapped around hers. Inuyasha cleared his throat loudly, followed by a low rumble. He bore his teeth slightly, but Koga ignored him. Kagome wished that she could ignore Koga, too, but unfortunately she could not. Koga fingered lightly at her ears, and ran his fingers through her hair. "What has happened to you, Kagome?"

"I…I'm not quite sure myself." Kagome mumbled, stepping away from Koga and dashing to Inuyasha. Inuyasha stepped in front of her in a protective position. Kagome gladly stood behind him and peeped out around his shoulder.

"If you did _anything _to Kagome, mutt," Koga grunted threateningly, "to influence this change, you'll regret it."

"As if I'd change anything about her!" Inuyasha exclaimed angrily. Koga glared at Inuyasha, and Inuyasha glared at Koga. Kagome was getting annoyed by this, so she stepped between them.

"Guys…" she began, raising an eyebrow. Suddenly, she went white as a sheet and stiff as a board. She stood straight and tall, and her eyes rolled back into her head. A blur of color rushed before her eyes, and she foresaw something that was a few moments away.

Koga, in this vision, was yelling something, and Inuyasha was too. They both ran to Kagome, and she began to fall to the ground. Koga had caught her because of his swiftness and he held her bridal style as he stood up. She saw her head hanging limply for a moment, and Inuyasha ran up to her and was screaming something frantically. Kagome's body was trembling in Koga's arms and Koga was apparently freaking out. She saw something feathery sticking out of herself, but before she could figure out what it was she snapped back into her body and present time.

"Kagome, what happened?" Inuyasha questioned, running up to her, grabbing her wrists, and pulling them to his chest.

"I had an," Kagome gasped faintly, "apparition."

"What did you see?"

Y-you and Koga were…you were freaking out because something happened to me." Kagome whispered, "Something…something feathery was sticking out of me…"

"An arrow." Inuyasha murmured.

"When I have these visions they happen only a few minutes or less after I see them." Kagome whispered.

"So that means…?" Inuyasha asked. Kagome nodded. Kagome heard a whistling sound on the wind, then spotted an arrow cutting through the air; it was aimed at Inuyasha's back.

"NOO!" she screamed, throwing him aside. The arrow struck her in the shoulder, and she twisted around upon impact. She felt herself shriek, and she turned to look at Inuyasha. A tear streamed down her face as she began to fall, and she saw Inuyasha and Koga yell, but she heard no sound. Koga, like in her vision, caught her before she hit the ground. He lifted her up bridal style and carried her into the woods, Inuyasha at his heels.

Koga set her in the grass, and she lay there looking up at Inuyasha. All sound was gone from her ears. Inuyasha was shaking her, bellowing something at her. His mouth kept forming the words, "Don't close your eyes!"

Koga was at her other side, roaring something along the lines of, "Kagome! Stay with us!" Kagome felt extremely tired, though, and she couldn't keep her eyes open. With a shaky hand, she felt around her chest until her hand came upon the arrow protruding from her left shoulder. She wrapped her fist around it tightly, and pulled on it until it came out. Kagome knew she was bleeding, but didn't have the strength to look at her wound.

_"It couldn't be that bad,"_ Kagome reasoned with herself. She gazed into Inuyasha's eyes, and said softly, "I will be okay." Then her eyes began to close, and she was engulfed in darkness.


	8. Chapter 8: Kaede's Hut

Kagome's eyes fluttered open as a bright light shone through her eyelids. She tried to sit up, but a strong hand kept her down. She looked up and locked eyes with Inuyasha, and beside him, Kaede. "Ye need to rest, child." Kaede said knowingly to Kagome. "Ye had quite the injury to thy chest, ye did."

"It was nothing at all," Kagome grunted, trying again to sit up. Inuyasha pushed her down gently again, something unrecognizable in his eyes. Kagome looked around and realized that she was inside of Kaede's hut beside a warm fire. She was laying on a pallet on the floor. As Kagome tried to fidget with the blanket that was covering her, she noticed that she wasn't wearing a shirt. Instead, her entire chest was wrapped in bandages and there was a bandage strap that covered her left shoulder.

"Nothing at all," Inuyasha scoffed, "you saved my life. If you hadn't pushed me out of the way, that arrow would've pierced my heart."

"I don't feel like a hero." Kagome sighed, feeling her wrappings.

"Well you are one," Inuyasha said, pausing a moment, "to me, at least."

"Where's Koga?"

"Are ye talking about the wolf demon?" Kaede questioned. Kagome nodded. "He's left already. 'Tis a pity too, for he was waiting for ye to awaken."

"How long have I been unconscious?" Kagome asked, looking back to Inuyasha. He hadn't averted his gaze from her since she had woken up.

"Three days." He replied.

"Three days?" Kagome exclaimed, trying to sit up again. She winced as the muscles in her shoulder tightened, and Inuyasha helped her to lay back down.

"Aye." Kaede said. She looked into the fire a moment, watching the flames dance about across the logs, and said suddenly, "I be needing to go for a little while."

"Why and where, Kaede?" Kagome inquired.

"I be in need of more herbs for the art of healing. It seems I used the last of it on ye, Kagome." Kaede answered.

"Old woman, just send for a villager to do it for ya." Inuyasha said.

"Worry not, Inuyasha, for I must take a few of the children to teach them of a few herbs I need for healing." Kaede said as she stood up. "Now, ye keep an eye on Kagome while I be gone, aye?" Inuyasha nodded, and waited for Kaede to leave the hut before leaning against the wall cross legged, facing the fire.

"Inuyasha?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you…"Kagome took a deep breath, thinking of how to word her question, "did you think I was going to die?" Inuyasha sat in silence for a little while, saying nothing.

"Perhaps at first, but as you began to heal, I knew you'd be alright." Inuyasha said. Kagome laughed lightly. Inuyasha turned to her, the fire reflected in his eyes, and began to move closer to her. He was now directly beside her. Kagome reached out and took his hand.

"Your hand is so warm…" Kagome noted.

"Yours is so cold..." Inuyasha laughed. Kagome held his hand in hers, and she pulled it to her cheek. He blushed, and turned his head away so that Kagome couldn't see it, and Kagome colored deeply also. She let go and let her hand fall back down into the pallet. "You didn't have to let go, you know."

"I know." Kagome replied, looking up at him. They stared at each other for a long moment, and the flames glowed in her big brown and amber-speckled eyes. Kagome didn't understand what was happening, but at the same time she did. She reached for his shoulder for support, and despite the disapproving look he was giving her, Inuyasha helped pull her up into a sitting position. Now she was right in front of him, her face only inches away from his. He steadily held her gaze, his amber eyes boring into her own.

Kagome began to get skittish, so she began to speak nervously, "So, um, how long did it take to get here? I bet it took a long time. Did you get to eat any ramen? I had some in my backpack if you wanted it. Have you been relaxing since we arrived? What have you been doing while I've been unconscious? Wh-" Inuyasha softly shushed her by placing one slender finger to her lips.

"You talk too much." He laughed. In a swift movement, Inuyasha's lips were upon Kagome's. Kagome's eyes were wide open with surprise and shock for a moment, but her eyelids closed. He pulled away quickly though, too soon, putting Kagome into a confused daze.

"Did…did that just happen?" Kagome asked in amazement.

"Uh…yeah, I guess." Inuyasha replied, blushing and turning away, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck. "Sorry about that…" he muttered. Instantly, as if it never happened, he turned back, all signs of the kiss gone.

"Inuyasha…" Kagome trailed off.

"Yeah?" Inuyasha said. Kagome searched desperately into his eyes for something, anything, to work with but found nothing.

"You can be such a baka," Kagome began. Inuyasha raised an eyebrow as Kagome finished, "but I don't think that was a stupid thing to do." With that, Kagome leaned forward and kissed him softly on the cheek, and she laid back down upon her pallet. Inuyasha's fingertips lingered where she had kissed him, and he finally got the courage to say it.

"Kagome, I have something to tell you." He said.

"What is it, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked.

"I love you." Inuyasha stated.

***Author's Note***

_What a cliff hanger, eh? Hehehe…there'll be more soon! Stay tuned, thank you for your patience, and thank you for reviewing and adding this story to your favorites!_


	9. Chapter 9: Time and Time Again

Kagome wiggled her ears in disbelief. _"Did he really just say that?"_ she thought. "C-come again?" She managed once she had composed herself.

"You heard me." Inuyasha grunted, blushing embarrassedly.

"So just to get things straight…y-you l-love me…?" Kagome stuttered.

"Umm…" Inuyasha mumbled. He didn't say anything. Kagome rolled over to look at him. She focused all her powers on him.

_"If I try as hard as I can, I might be able to read his mind."_ Kagome thought, _"Now, what are you thinking?" _Very faintly in the back of her mind, she could hear a voice. To be more specific, Inuyasha's.

It was saying, _"Kuso! Why'd I go and say something so stupid like that? Baka, baka, baka! I can see already that Kagome doesn't feel the same way. I need to get out of here…"_ Kagome squeezed her eyes tightly, and thought four words over and over and over again, hoping and praying that Inuyasha could hear her thoughts.

_"I love you, too. I love you, too. I love you, too." _Inuyasha's eyes widened with shock.

_"Kagome? Is that you? How can you talk to me this way?"_ He asked.

_"There is plenty of time to explain that, Inuyasha, but that will come later. What we need to talk about now is the relationship between us and what it is becoming."_ Kagome replied. She sat up, wincing at the pain in her shoulder from her wound.

"I think we already know where it is going." Inuyasha said aloud, helping Kagome to sit up.

"W-we do?" Kagome questioned, looking into Inuyasha's eyes in a confused way. Inuyasha locked eye contact with her.

_"We do."_

Kagome sighed heavily, noticing that she had been holding her breath. With two steady hands, she cupped her hands around her wound and focused. A blue light emerged from the cracks in between her fingers, and the pain in her wound was gone. The wound had disappeared, thanks to Kagome's healing miko powers. "I suppose I should go get some clothes now that my injury is repaired, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Inuyasha laughed, helping Kagome to her feet.

"Mama, Sota, and Grampa…what will they say about my new look, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked worriedly. "What if they wouldn't want me anymore because I have demonic powers?"

"They will always love you, Kagome, they are your family." Inuyasha said.

"Inuyasha, just for old time's sake…"

"Go ahead." Inuyasha chuckled crouching onto the ground. Kagome climbed up onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"My muscles were feeling a bit stiff after lying in the same place all that time." Kagome explained. Inuyasha didn't say a word, just dashed soundlessly to the well, but Kagome smiled. She rested her head on his left shoulder, and every so often as he'd maneuver around the forest to the well, his cheek would brush up against hers lightly. When they came upon the Bone Eater's well, Inuyasha leapt in gracefully.

The two half-demons were engulfed in blue light, and were softly deposited at the bottom of the same well five hundred years in the future. Inuyasha jumped out, and slid the wooden shrine door open. He walked out, slid it back again, and dashed up to Kagome's house. Kagome told him to stop at the front door and let her off, and he did. Then he scaled the side of the house and into her room to wait for her. Kagome looked back at the door in front of her and rang the doorbell.

"Coming!" She heard a familiar voice say. When the door opened, there stood her little brother, Sota.

"Hi, Kagome!" He smiled, letting her inside. He looked back at her with a confused look on his face and asked, "Where's your shirt? Why are you covered in bandages?"

"I was shot with an arrow," Kagome pointed at her shoulder as they walked side-by-side down the hallway to the kitchen, "and I passed out. Kaede, the old woman I've told you about before, she wrapped me in bandages and didn't put my shirt back on because she didn't want to agitate the wound. She took care of me and the injury for three days."

"Ah." He nodded in understanding, smiling. Sota popped his head around the kitchen doorway and called, "Mama! Grampa! Kagome's home!"

"Kagome-chan, welcome home!" Kagome's mom said happily, hugging her tightly when she got into the kitchen.

"Thank you, mama! I've missed you all so much." Kagome said, hugging her mother back tightly. When they finally pulled apart, Kagome's mom looked her up and down, still holding onto Kagome's shoulders with outstretched arms.

"What happened to my baby girl? Why're you wrapped in bandages?" She asked worriedly.

"She got shot by an arrow in the shoulder," Sota said matter-of-factly, "and she's been tended to for three days! It's all healed now, mama."

"An arrow? Oh, Kagome, I'm so sorry!" Kagome's mom cried, hugging Kagome again.

"Kagome-chan, I'm running out of illnesses for the school…" Kagome's grampa said from the kitchen table, "do you have any ideas?"

"Jii-chan!" Kagome said, running over and giving her grandfather a tight hug.

"K-Kagome," he stuttered, "I c-can't _breathe_." He emphasized the word 'breathe', so Kagome, taking the hint, laughed and pulled away. "My dear girl, what happened to your ears?"

Kagome opened her mouth and was about to explain, but then Sota cut in and asked, "What happened to your hair?"  
"And your eyes? They were once all brown, but now have specks of…amber?" Kagome's mom inquired from the stove. Kagome rolled her eyes in annoyance, waiting for any more questions.

When none came, she felt all eyes upon her expectantly, their three owners waiting for an answer. "I saw this meteor about a week or two ago, and…" everyone held their breath and waited for her to finish. "to make a long story short, I cut myself on a piece of the asteroid and then this freaky rock apparently entered my cut." One by one, each of them released their breath, only to raise an eyebrow. "Look, I wish I could explain more, but I really need to get upstairs and change."

Sota, Jii-chan, and her mom all returned to what they were doing as Kagome finally slipped out of the room. She dashed up the stairs two at a time and burst into her room. Inuyasha was sitting cross-legged on her bed, waiting for her. "What took you so long?"

"I was talking to my family, that's all." Kagome said, closing her bedroom door and walking to her closet. She opened the door and began sifting through her clothes. School uniform, school uniform, school uniform…she sighed in irritation and, just as she was about to give up, she came across a deep, rich purple kimono. It was adjustable, so it could be a kimono shirt, knee length dress, or ankle length dress. It had two white pearl buttons fastened just below the Japanese collar, and when she unfolded it she noted the intricate baby blue and silver design. It resembled a flower pattern of sorts, and the bow on the back was silver and baby blue swirled together. "Inuyasha, could you please step out? I need to change clothes."

" 'Kay, but don't take forever or I'm coming back in." Inuyasha said, stepping outside into the hall. As soon as the door closed, Kagome walked over to her dresser, pulled out a bra, and began to unravel the bandages around her waist and chest. She fastened her bra, and pulled on the kimono, which she had prepared at knee length. Then she walked over to her vanity, sat down in the chair, and brushed her hair. She piled her black and white streaked hair on top of her head and fastened it with six pearl pins, creating a lush array of delicate curls.

After her hair was done, she did something she had never done before. She opened the box of makeup her mom had gotten her that year for Christmas and pulled out the lipstick and lip gloss. Kagome put the pale pink lipstick around her lips, and then added a soft shimmer of gloss. Kagome pulled out the eye shadow next, putting a small amount of purple on her eyelids. Finally, with this rigorous task of makeup completed and after it had been put away, Kagome stood up and faced the bedroom door. "Inuyasha," she called, "you can come in now."

The door opened slowly, and Inuyasha inched in. He hadn't seen her just yet, and when he turned around after closing the door, his jaw nearly dropped to the carpeted floor. He had never seen Kagome like this. "D-does it really look that bad?" Kagome asked nervously, biting her bottom lip.

"Bad?" Inuyasha scoffed, "I've never seen you look more beautiful." He rushed to her side, and gently pushed a lock of hair from Kagome's face. Kagome blushed deeply, and turned to sit on her bed. Inuyasha followed close behind her and sat beside her. Kagome looked at him intently, and took his hand in hers. Inuyasha leaned forward and kissed her lightly on her forehead.

Kagome got a little bit closer to him. She rested her head on his shoulder, and they sat in a contemplative silence for a few moments. _"What now?"_ Kagome thought to herself, only to hear her thoughts echoed by Inuyasha. She laughed, almost forgetting that she could read his mind.

"What?" Inuyasha questioned jolting away and looking at Kagome.

"Nothing, Inuyasha." Kagome replied, trying hard to stifle her giggling.

"It doesn't seem like nothing." Inuyasha mumbled.

"Oh, just shut up and kiss me already, you baka." Kagome said, pulling Inuyasha by the cloth of his shirt and meeting his lips with hers. It lasted a few seconds, followed by a few long moments, followed by a minute or two…Kagome wrapped her arms around his neck and he put his around her waist. Finally, Kagome pulled away and opened her eyes. The only thing that could be heard, and only by her, was Inuyasha's thoughts saying, _"Wow."_

"Um…" Inuyasha began, clearing his throat in an attempt to break the silence, "shouldn't we be going back now?"

"Maybe…" Kagome agreed, "but then again, we won't really be alone in the Feudal Era, now will we?"

"I see your point." Inuyasha said. They both sat a moment without saying a word.

"One more before we go?" Kagome asked.

"Uh, sure, if that's what you want." Inuyasha laughed, a cocky smirk forming at the edge of his lips. Then, their previous kiss was duplicated, but this one was deeper, longer…it had started out as a few minutes, then it turned into ten, fifteen, twenty…finally, they pulled apart again. Inuyasha stood up quietly, opened the window, and crouched down for Kagome to get on his back. Kagome climbed on, and they leapt out the window and dashed back to the shrine.


	10. Chapter 10: Leaves

Kagome sat in front of a clear river, carefully pulling out the pearl hairpins. Inuyasha was seated only a few feet away, legs stretched out and leaned back on propped arms, watching Kagome intently. Kagome noted the fact that her raven hair that she had curled with a curling iron cascaded gently down over her shoulders and across her forehead, still holding small, perfect ringlets. As she was pulling out the fifth pin, it got caught in her hair. She tried to pull on it, but it was stuck. "A little help, please?"

"Fine," Inuyasha grunted, moving over to Kagome, "but don't expect me to do this on a regular basis." Kagome chuckled at his blunt remark; however she stopped as soon as he had his hands in her hair. He gently untangled her hair and slid the pin out, followed by the sixth and final one. Once his work was done, Inuyasha put the hairpins in Kagome's hand. "There."

"You didn't have to get out that last one you know." Kagome said as Inuyasha moved back to his spot in the river grass and resumed his prior sitting position.

"Feh." Inuyasha said, pointing his nose into the air with mock superiority. Kagome shook her head and turned back to her reflection in the river. The sun was slowly sinking, giving way to the light of the full moon. She kept her eyes at the water and observed herself as her transformation began to start. The white streaks were slowly pushed out of her hair, only to be replaced by the black color that blended into the rest of her hair. Her ears slowly faded away, and she moved her hair from the sides of her head to see her regained human ears.

Kagome opened her mouth slightly to see her fangs shrink back, watched her sharp-tipped fingernails shorten and round themselves out, then she leaned close to the water and saw the amber specks in her eyes begin to disappear into the depths of brown. She pulled back up and looked at her new reflection. She was her regular human self now, wearing a purple, blue, and silver kimono holding six pearl hairpins in one hand. "Well, here's to another night of being a human." Kagome sighed. She touched her reflection gently to send ripples across it, obscuring her reflection. Finally, before she could watch the ripples die away, she peeled her eyes from the river.

Kagome and Inuyasha were walking through the trees, on their way back to Kaede's village from the river. They kept at the same pace, their soft footfalls on the dirt matching step by step. "I don't think there's anything wrong with being a human," Inuyasha said, "unless of course we're talking about me. There are a lot of things wrong with being a human in that case." Kagome shoved at him a little bit with her shoulder.

"It's not funny." She huffed, crossing her arms and walking ahead of him.

"Maybe not to you," Inuyasha said, crossing his arms across his chest as well, "but-"

"Sit boy." Kagome said irritably, pointing her nose up into the air and making a small little "humph!" sound. Inuyasha's body smacked the ground so hard that lots of birds flew out of the trees.

"Stop doing that!" Inuyasha scowled, peeling himself up off the dirt. Kagome marched angrily ahead, ignoring him. "Kagome," Inuyasha said, walking up to her and standing in her way. He put his arms on her shoulders to get her to stop walking. "there's nothin' wrong with you being a human!"

"Get," Kagome wriggled in his grasp, "away," she raised an open palm, "from me!" she yelled, striking his left cheek. Inuyasha released her immediately and raised a hand to his cheek. Kagome stared in shock from her hand to the red mark on Inuyasha's face, in the perfect shape of her hand.

"Wha-what was that for?" Inuyasha cried angrily.

"I…" Kagome said quietly, "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me." Her cheeks started to get warm and red with embarrassment, and hot tears sprung into her eyes.

"N-no, d-don't cry!" Inuyasha yelped in alarm.

"I'm sorry." She repeated, allowing the tears to run down her cheeks. She plopped down cross legged style in the grass and held her right wrist, her bright red palm facing up. It stung a little, so she couldn't imagine how it felt for it to have hit someone.

Inuyasha looked at her and how upset she was with herself, and dropped his hand from his cheek. He sat down beside her in the same way, and reached over and lifted her face up by the chin. "Hey," he said softly, wiping a few tears away with his thumb, "I'm fine." Kagome's tears fell a little harder, and she leaned into his embrace.

"I'm-"

"Stop apologizing already!" Inuyasha said, squeezing her tightly.

"Okay…" She took a deep breath and wiped her tears on her sleeve.

"Better?" Inuyasha asked, loosening his grip around her and letting her go.

"Better." Kagome agreed, "Thanks, Inuyasha."

"What're you thanking me for?" Inuyasha demanded, leaping up from the ground, "All I did was get you to stop apologizing. You did all the rest." Kagome stood up and shook her head, and threw her arms around him in another hug.

"You do more than you know." She whispered into his shirt. Inuyasha just stood there for a moment with a blank, confused look on his face, but finally he returned the hug and they let go. "Let's start heading back now, 'kay?"

"Yeah." Inuyasha said, walking alongside Kagome. Kagome laughed and grabbed his hand, and began to run. Inuyasha ran too, but slowly so he could keep up with Kagome and not end up dragging her.

Kagome was laughing wholeheartedly, her black hair streaming out behind her in luscious waves. Inuyasha couldn't help but smile, and soon he was chuckling a little bit too. Kagome released his hand and dashed before him, spinning in a circle and stirring up dead leaves that had fallen on the ground. She reached down and got a handful of leaves, motioning for Inuyasha to do the same. When he just stood there watching her, she put her leaves into his hands and cupped hers around his, and then they, together, threw them up into the air. Kagome was determined to make the best of being her human self until sunrise in the morning.

Kagome looked up at the leaves that they had thrown and watched them fall back down. Inuyasha fell out laughing when a leaf landed on Kagome's nose, but Kagome returned the gesture when a leaf fell on top of his head. Kagome sneezed and the leaf flew off, and Inuyasha flicked the leaf off his head. A few more leaves fell and landed on Kagome's head, forming what looked like a crown of sorts. Inuyasha mock bowed to her, and she waved a finger at him with her nose pointed into the air and said, "How dare you disrespect your queen like so."

"Queen?" Inuyasha asked with feigned innocence, looking up at her from his bowing position.

"Uh huh." Kagome said, nodding once. Inuyasha walked up with a glimmer of mischief in his eyes and swiped the leaves off her head. He threw them up into the air. "Guards, guards!" Kagome cried with false emergency in her voice, "There's a crown thief on the loose!"

"Ha ha ha!" Inuyasha said, breaking a twig off a branch and holding it out like a sword. He kept slicing it through the air in a cutting motion saying, "Take that, and that, and that!" Kagome laughed so hard that tears were in her eyes and her sides were hurting. She watched him until he thrust his sword underneath his arm. "Urgh! They got me…"

Inuyasha staggered around clutching the stick, then he pulled it out and fell to the ground. "Man down!" Kagome yelled, laughing and getting on her knees beside him. She put her hand over his heart. "I feel a pulse…he's still alive!" Kagome pretended to heal him and he opened his eyes.

"I'm saved!" Inuyasha exclaimed, sitting up. "And it's all thanks to my wonderful nurse." He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to him until they were chest to chest, forehead to forehead. "God, I can't believe I kept myself from this for so long." Inuyasha whispered softly, leaning forward and kissing Kagome for a moment.

"Hmm…" Kagome said, leaning back and resting her cheek on his shoulder. Inuyasha put his chin on top of her head, and they both sat together like that for a few minutes, Kagome sitting in Inuyasha's lap. "I think I can." She said finally, pulling away and looking at him. Inuyasha's hair was in his face, so Kagome reached out with one pale, slender hand and brushed it gently out of the way.

"I'm not too sure I can agree with you, Kagome." Inuyasha replied, reaching up and taking her small hand in his. "I wish this could've happened a long time ago." Kagome smiled and stood to her feet, pulling Inuyasha up with her by the hand. Hand in hand, by the light of the moon, they walked to the village after a long day.


	11. Chapter 11: Kaede's Sad Tale

The fire crackled and danced in the middle of Kaede's hut. Lady Kaede was having an in-depth discussion with Inuyasha, and Kagome lay sleeping on a pallet by the fire. Or at least, they_ thought_ she was sleeping. At first, she was. But then, after tossing and turning with no return back to her peaceful slumber, Kagome lay awake. She was ashamed to say it aloud, but she couldn't announce the fact that she was, indeed, conscious, because Lady Kaede and Inuyasha talked about many things that apparently Kagome wasn't ready to hear. Their talking was a quiet buzz, blending in with the sounds of the rosy fire, so normal human ears couldn't hear their conversation very easily. Luckily in Kagome's case, she had a demonic sense of hearing, so she could hear every word, syllable, breath, and heartbeat perfectly.

"Old woman, I've been meaning to talk to you about something rather important." Inuyasha announced.

"And this be the reason for ye to visit?" Kaede asked.

"Yeah."

"Let me guess…has it something to do with Lady Kagome's dramatic transformation?" Kaede questioned further.

"Yeah…how did you know?" Inuyasha inquired curiously.

"I had me suspicions." Kaede replied. "So, what be the cause of it?"

"Well, there was this space rock thing, and Kagome went after it. She cut her finger on a piece of – what did she call it, again? Oh, right! – asteroid and then came across a weird silvery stone thing. She said that when she touched it there was a bright white flash, and it was gone. The next morning, she looked…well, like she does now." Inuyasha explained. The old woman had been silent as he was talking. She was now contemplating what he'd related to her. "Well?"

"Inuyasha." Kaede finally murmured.

"Yeah?"

"This seems a very bad situation, indeed." Kaede said, a hint of darkness and sincerity in her voice. Inuyasha's once relaxed posture immediately tensed, and although before he was leaning casually against the wall, now he was sitting straight as a metal rod. "There be a tale like that…" Kaede began, sighing deeply, "of a mysterious rock that appeared from the sky."

"Just like what happened with Kagome!" Inuyasha exclaimed, half nervously and half excitedly.

"Quiet boy, for that be just the beginning of the story." Kaede said. Inuyasha fell silent. "In the story, a young village boy found a mysterious rock, like Lady Kagome, and it disappeared in the same manner. The boy developed demonic powers, and soon became a quite powerful hanyou." Inuyasha held his breath. "Every time this boy used an attack, he became stronger. Eventually, the boy was one of the most powerful demons in Japan. However, each time his attacks strengthened, small amounts of his life energy were drained." Kagome's blood ran cold. All color drained from her face as the realization hit her.

"Surely, Lady Kaede, this boy found a cure?" Inuyasha asked cautiously.

"I'm afraid not." Kaede replied sadly, "The boy eventually died due to too much life energy drained."

"But…" Inuyasha thought of how to word his question, "there _is_ a way to save Kagome, right?" No answer. "Right?" Kaede stared blankly into the flames. Inuyasha knew the answer. Kagome knew the answer._ Everyone_ knew the answer.

**Author's Note**

_Sorry about the shortness of this chapter…but I said all that needed to be said in this chapter. What'll happen next? Review! The only reason I keep writing these chapters is because of all the awesome feedback I get. Sooo…I'm taking this time to send out a big shout out to:_

_Kate_

_Ayame0217_

_Freedom fighter_

_KagomeYasha_

_cat_

_Dantetwin14_

_Thorn_

_Thanks to all of you for reviewing, and PLEASE keep at it! Arigato :3_


	12. Chapter 12: The Mysterious Glass Rose

"Lady Kaede, please tell me there's a way to save her. She _can't_ die. She just cannot." Inuyasha's voice was slightly quivering now, and Kagome peeked at him. His amber eyes were glossy, and desperate tears were forming in his eyes. A single transparent tear rolled down his cheek and soaked into his red kimono.

Suddenly, Kagome's body went stiff as a board. She gasped for air, and she went into spasms. Her eyes rolled back into her head, and she was experiencing one of the most powerful visions she had ever had. Inuyasha was at her side in an instant, and Kaede was only a few seconds behind him. Inuyasha had her in his lap, and he was shaking her. "Kagome!" He shouted. His voice was fading from Kagome's hearing. She entered a different place.

There was a wide expanse of grassy land, and off in the distance there was a range of smoky-grey mountains topped with green grass. The blue sky was smeared just above them, and clouds were dotting it here and there, like pieces of cotton balls glued onto a light blue piece of construction paper. Suddenly, the view zoomed in to a mountaintop, and as it grew closer, little lavender colored flowers came into view. When it finally stopped, all that was visible was a field of purple flowers, tulips, daisies, and the like, and that's all you'd think to see if you were just skimming past. However, upon closer inspection, in the midst of the sea of green and lavender, there was one flower that stood out.

The flower looked to be a rose of sorts, with a slender, thornless stem, many soft petals, and two perfectly shaped leaves, one on each side of the stem. The rose appeared like it was made out of glass or water, and had all the colors of the rainbow swirling around inside of its delicate walls, and they couldn't have been seen with the naked human eye. In actuality, this flower was only visible to the twice as clear and detailed demon eyesight, which, luckily, Kagome had. When the sun's rays caressed the breakable and fragile stem, petals, and brittle leaves, the flower gleamed with a silvery tint. Kagome knew instantly that this flower would heal her. How, she didn't know. Then, the scene faded into blackness.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha's voice called, now sounding frantic. It sounded muffled, like Kagome was underwater. Soon, it became more clear, like Kagome was swimming to the surface of a pool.

"Inuyasha," Kaede's voice said soothingly, "she is all right." Kagome could now hear them crystal clear, like she had finally surfaced.

"I-Inu…yasha…" Kagome whispered quietly, her eyes slowly fluttering open.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha sighed with relief, "you scared me…" He pulled her to his chest into a tight hug. Kagome felt so drained after such a powerful display that she couldn't move. Her arms, legs, neck - _everything_ lay limply at her sides. If you couldn't see her breathing, you might've thought she was dead.

"Inu…yasha…?" Kagome said weakly.

"Yeah?"

"I had another vision." Kagome stated, her voice more steady.

"What happened in it?" Inuyasha asked, concern clouding his amber eyes.

"Well, before I tell you…" Kagome paused and took a deep breath, warm color beginning to color her cheeks, "I just wanted to admit that I was eavesdropping on yours and Lady Kaede's conversation only a few short moments ago." Inuyasha blinked back the surprised expression that had blossomed across his face, and waited for her to continue. "I saw a grassy field, and in the distance was some kind of mountain range. The vision zoomed in on one of the mountains, which was capped in a grassy meadow of violet flowers, and it zoomed in on one flower in particular. All the surrounding flowers were like daisies, or tulips, or chrysanthemums…" Kagome pondered this subject more, thinking really hard as to what flower she had seen, "but this one flower stood out. It was like…it looked like a glass rose."

"Glass rose?" Inuyasha questioned, confused.

"Wait, I wasn't finished." Inuyasha nodded to her to acknowledge that he was still listening, so Kagome continued, "When the sun shone on that flower, it gleamed like silver. I think that this flower might be able to heal my…er…condition."

"I do believe I've heard of a place like ye described, Lady Kagome." Kaede said thoughtfully. Kagome sat up on her pallet, and, although he freed her from his grasp, Inuyasha stayed right beside her. "It sounds like ye need to take a visit to the _Azakaish Mountains_."

"_Azakaish Mountains_? That place sounds like a place for little girls to frolic in the flowers and whatnot." Inuyasha cried, "There ain't no way I'm going there."

"Inuyasha." Kagome said, touching his arm.  
" 'Inuyasha' nothing. I'm not going and that's final."

"The _Azakaish Mountains_ is a very dangerous place, Inuyasha, so ye mustn't let the name deceive you." Lady Kaede interjected.

"Alright old woman, what're you yammerin' about now?" Inuyasha asked irritatedly.

"Kagome can't go to these mountains alone. The scent from the flowers will send you off to another world, one filled with your deepest desires and deepest fears. Whilst you try to get out of that place, demons arise from hiding and come out for a snack." Kaede informed them solemnly. "I believe you know what I mean."

"Fine. I'll go to your stupid _'Azakesh Mountains' _or whatever." Inuyasha mumbled, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Thank you, Inuyasha. I appreciate that." Kagome said gratefully. She leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder. Inuyasha blushed upon the sudden gesture, but put his arm around her.

"I won't let you die, Kagome." Inuyasha whispered softly, only audible enough for Kagome to hear.

"I know you won't." Kagome replied, equally as inaudible. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Inuyasha said.

"I," Kagome paused a moment to yawn, and continued, "love you." Inuyasha's blush deepened, for Kagome had never said anything like that to him before. Actually, no one had. Not even Kikyo. Kagome waited sleepily and patiently for him to reply.

"I…" Inuyasha forced the words out, "love you, too." As soon as the words had rolled off of his tongue, he realized just how true they were. "I really, truly love you."

"And I," Kagome began, sitting up and looking him in the eye with his hands in her own, "have never been so crazy about someone in my life. I couldn't have gotten more lucky." Inuyasha began to laugh, and lightly pressed his lips against Kagome's. Kaede was already behind a curtain, in her own little room, to even know what was going on out there.

Kagome paused a moment and reluctantly pulled away. Her forehead was touching his, and her dark bangs were mixed in with his. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply though her nose, taking in every detail of his scent.

Inuyasha's amber eyes were curious, and he reached out with his left hand and stroked her cheek wit the back of his pointer finger. Kagome placed her hand over his, and moved it with his hand as it trailed across her cheekbones and forehead, stopping at her hairline. Her black and white streaked hair was in her face, and Inuyasha lightly brushed it back and tucked it behind her ear. They locked eyes for a moment, and then gave Kagome a kiss on the cheek and leaned back. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Kagome replied, smiling, and laying down on her pallet. Inuyasha reached out and pulled the blankets up to her neck. "Inuyasha?"

"Yes, Kagome?"

"What'll happen if we can't find that flower?" Kagome asked.

"Don't talk like that." Inuyasha said, "We'll find it." Then in his head added, _"We have to."_

"Okay, I believe you. That's all I wanted to know." Kagome yawned, rolling over and closing her eyes. "Inuyasha?" she said, watching the flames.

"Yeah?" Inuyasha replied, sitting across the room in his signature way, crosslegged and leaning against the wall.

"Can you lay beside me for a little while?" Kagome questioned sleepily. When he didn't answer, Kagome added, "Just until I fall asleep, is all."

"Sure," Inuyasha said softly, walking over and stretching out beside Kagome. "Why do you want me to do this, anyway?"

"I dunno…I just feel safer at night if you're close to me. I don't know why." Kagome mumbled, drifting off into sleep.

"Hmm…" Inuyasha said. A few minutes later, all you could hear inside the hut was the crackling of the fire, and two peoole slowly inhaling and exhaling.


	13. Chapter 13: Sango

Kagome woke up around seven o'clock. Inuyasha had fallen asleep laying on her pallet with her, and he was asleep on his side, with his arm around her. Kagome blushed deeply. How was she going to get out of this? Kagome slowly lifted his arm and placed it at his side, then quietly stood up. Inuyasha rolled over onto his back, right onto the place where Kagome had just been laying. Kagome knelt down and pulled the blanket up to his neck.

As she was knelt at his side, Kagome noticed the fact that he had extremely dark bags under his eyes. Poor guy. He hadn't gotten any sleep, because he had been so worried about Kagome, and the sleep he did get was restless and easily woken out of. Kagome had never gotten a good look at him asleep before. He looked so peaceful, and his long, dark eyelashes fanned out beautifully. He looked younger in his sleep, and his breathing was slow and steady. Kagome could guess that this was the first night in a while that he'd gotten proper sleep.

She just wanted to sit there all day and watch him laying there, so innocent and worry free, but she knew that she needed to pack up their things. As she began to stand up, his eyelids snapped open and her chocolaty brown eyes were met with his amber ones. "Inuyasha," Kagome whispered softly, "go back to sleep. You need all the rest you can get."

"I don't need sleep, woman." Inuyasha replied, sitting up. Kagome moved in front of him with lightning quickness and placed a hand on his chest, pushing him back down lightly.

"Please?" Kagome asked quietly, her eyes clouded with concern.

"I don't need to sleep." Inuyasha said.

"For me, Inuyasha. Please, I'm really worried about you. Just do me that one favor." Kagome begged for the final time.

"Fine," Inuyasha gave in, "I'll go back to sleep."

"Thank you." Kagome smiled, lightly brushing her lips against Inuyasha's.

"Hey, if I'm going to sleep, I deserve a proper goodnight kiss, do I not?" Inuyasha teased.

"I suppose so." Kagome replied in the same manner. Inuyasha was lying down on the pallet, and Kagome was pulling the blankets back up around him. Inuyasha reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her down to his chest. Kagome's head was now rested just below his collarbone. She pushed herself up with her hands and arms, so her hair was now curtained around them.

She pulled down and kissed him one final time before pulling up to stand, informing him that she would pack while he slept. Inuyasha groggily agreed to this, and he closed his eyes and fell asleep instantly.

About thirty minutes later, Kagome had finished packing, and was standing up and ready to go. Inuyasha was still asleep, so Kagome decided against waking him. She decided to visit her long-time friend, Sango, and her husband, Miroku, who lived in Kaede's village. They used to all be part of a big group together, Kagome, Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, and a little fox demon, Shippo. After they had defeated their enemy, Naraku, and destroyed the Shikon Jewel, the group went their separate ways. Sango and Miroku had three children, all under the age of three. They had twin girls, and a little son that was about three months old, plus little Shippo who came to visit them often when he wasn't off training to become a stronger demon.

Sango's younger brother, Kohaku, also took residence with them at times, and he, as well as Shippo, was welcome to stay as often and as long as he would like. Kagome needed to talk to Sango very badly, however Sango had heard no news about Kagome's demonic transformation. Kagome took a deep breath and allowed her feet to lead her to their hut.

Kagome arrived in less than five minutes. She knocked on the door, and a friendly female face appeared. "Hi!" Kagome greeted Sango cheerfully.

"Kagome?" Sango questioned in disbelief, "Is that really you?"

"Yeah. The whole transformation thing is a long story." Kagome sighed.

"Well come on in!" Sango said, "I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to chat." As Kagome stepped inside, she realized that all the pallets and the crib were bare.

"Were is everyone?" Kagome asked, looking about the room. The only people inside were Kagome and Sango.

"Miroku took the children out for a trip to the market." Sango replied, sitting down on a cushion on the floor. Kagome sat on one across from her, and between them was a tea table.

"How? You have two little three year olds, correct?" Kagome inqured, puzzled.

"Yes, that's true, but because of that stroller you bought us from your time, Miroku had them fastened in and buckled down in no time." Sango returned.

"And the little baby boy?" Kagome continued.

"He's in his little chest carrier. You remember, don't you? You were the one who introduced the 'baby shower' thing to the village during my first pregnancy, and the moment everyone heard about my second pregnancy, we received many considerate gifts for the children." Sango said.

"Ah, yes! I do remember." Kagome laughed, the memory still as clear as if it had only happened the day before. "I gave you the chest carrier, a baby rattle, a few bottles, and pacifiers, right?"

"Yes, and the pacifiers proved very useful." Sango reminisced. "My little girls, Maia and Rini, are growing so fast! I still remember how tiny they were those first few months…"

"And now the duo are three!" Kagome exclaimed lightheartedly, "Oh, how time flies."

"Kagome," Sango said, interrupting her thoughts, "what exactly happened to you that made you develop demonic powers?"

"Well, I found this rock. It was apparently inside a space rock and I came across it after it had crashed." Kagome began to relate.

"Right! I saw that meteor about a month ago, I think. Didn't it crash into the _Amaedeth Forest_?" (pronounced Uh-my-deth) Sango questioned.

"Yes, that's correct. I found the stone inside the space rock's debris. The stone just kind of disappeared, and Inuyasha and Lady Kaede both speculate that it entered through an open cut on my finger." Kagome explained, "The next day I looked like this."

"Is that all?" Sango asked.

"No, there's more." Kagome said with a heavy heart, "I overheard a story that Kaede was telling Inuyasha. It was about a village boy who had a similar thing happen to him. The next day, like me, he was a hanyou. Every time that he used an attack, his demonic strength grew. However, as his strength increased, his life energy decreased. As in, each time he attacked anything, he lost life energy. Eventually, he died due to too much life energy lost."

"But Kagome, surely that won't happen to you?" Sango inquired seriously.

"I'm afraid it's already started." Kagome replied, "I keep having these visions, ever since I developed these powers. Each time that I have them, they grow stronger. Last night I had the strongest one I've ever had, and it drained my physical strength so much that I couldn't move for a few minutes. Imagine how much life energy I lost…" Kagome also told Sango about the battle with the cat demon, and the attacks that she used. "I couldn't even get off my pallet for at least a day!"

"Kagome," Sango said comfortingly, placing a gentle hand on Kagome's arm, "I know you can beat this."

"I hope so." Kagome half-whispered.

Just as they were about to launch another conversation, Inuyasha yelled, "**Kagome! Where are you?**"

"Well, Sango, I thank you for allowing me to talk to you." Kagome said, standing up.

"Anytime." Sango returned warmly, following Kagome to the door. She pulled Kagome into a reassuring hug and said, "You can stop by any time."

"Thanks." Kagome smiled. Sango opened the door, and Kagome began to take a step out.

"**Kagome! It's time to go!**"Inuyasha shouted.

"Sit boy." Kagome said under her breath. Sango, having heard her, began to join Kagome in laughing as Inuyasha was interrupted in mid shout. They could even hear him hit the ground.

"Goodbye, Kagome-chan. Come back soon, 'kay?" Sango said as she began to close the door.

"Uh huh!" Kagome agreed, nodding her head up and down. Then, she cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted back, "**Shut up, already! I'm coming!**"


	14. Chapter 14: Azakaish Mountains

Kagome and Inuyasha had been traveling for about a month now, in search of the _Azakaish Mountains_. Kagome kept having visions that led the way to the mountains, and each time they grew stronger. Kagome was growing weak. Her usually rosy cheeks were as pale as a piece of copy paper, her usually pinkish lips were colorless, and her once shiny hair was dull.

One afternoon, Inuyasha was carrying Kagome on his back when she asked for him to stop and allow her to rest awhile. Inuyasha laid her gingerly in the grass, and Kagome vainly attempted to sit up, propping herself up on her elbows. Her elbows couldn't hold her up anymore, so they bent back into their original and she began to fall back into the grass. Inuyasha caught her head and rested it on his lap. Kagome looked up at the blue sky and smiled weakly up at it.

The sun was shining happily and puffy clouds roamed the skies like giant wads of cotton candy. The sun, after a cloud had moved from its path, shown into her eyes, so she shielded them with one of her frail hands. She noted the fact that she could see the blood in her hands, shining red in the sun's rays, and a few of her blue and purple veins. Her arm grew tired quickly, so she laid it back in the grass. Her life was slipping away, and Inuyasha could sense it as well as see it.

She closed her eyes and allowed the sun's rays to warm her, and the light summer breeze to caress her face.

"Kagome," Inuyasha said softly, shaking her shoulders a little. "look at that." Kagome's eyelids fluttered open, and she looked in the direction of his finger. She saw in the distance a zigzag of smokey-grey mountains, with green sprinkled on top. Yes, Kagome was sure this was the correct way. "Are those the _Azakaish Mountains_?"

"Yes." Kagome whispered, awestruck, for the sight before her completely the same as it was in her vision.

"May we get going, then?" Inuyasha asked.

"Uh huh." Kagome replied. Inuyasha helped her get onto his back, and then he ran as fast as he could across the wide expanse of grass between them and the mountain. The gap quickly decreased, and they grew closer and closer by the minute. Finally, they were at the base of the mountains.

"We're here." Kagome announced nervously under her breath. Inuyasha reached up and lightly squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"We're here." He echoed. He carried her up one of the mountains, the one upon which the glass rose was planted, and they began their ascent up the inclined trail. They traveled until nightfall, so they stopped and made camp.

"Inuyasha," Kagome said for the umpteenth time, "you don't need to stay up. Those demons aren't going to come, okay?"

"You can never be too sure." Inuyasha repeated once again.

"Well I am sure," Kagome sighed, "that you are being paranoid."

"I'm not paranoid, Kagome." Inuyasha returned, "Is it really a crime that I'm protective of someone in such a weak state as yourself?"

"Please, Inuyasha." Kagome coaxed, "Come to bed and rest. You've done nothing but protect me all day. Even you could do with some down time."

"I don't need downtime." Inuyasha replied. Kagome sighed and gave up, not having the strength to do anything else besides talk to him, and obviously talking wouldn't do any good. She rolled over and, after a good time with her eyes closed, fell asleep.

They came in the middle of the night. Inuyasha was still as alert as ever, and his ears twitched at the sounds. "Aha!" he said under his breath, "So the demons decided to come out and play?" Kagome awoke, but was still. She could hear them rustling in the bushes and grass, behind rocks and trees. The demons had arrived.

She was about to warn Inuyasha when her stomach clenched in pain. It felt as though someone was ripping her apart on the inside out. She doubled over in her resting position, clutching her stomach. Kagome could barely get the name past her lips through her pain, and it came out in a barely audible cry in pain, "Inu…Inuyasha…" Inuyasha's sharp ears picked up her cry, and as he began to move to her side, his head began to throb painfully. It felt like someone was beating the back his head with some sort of weapon, over and over, harder and harder. Inuyasha fell to his knees, holding the back of his head in agonizing pain, but he did not allow the pain to succumb him. He couldn't let anything happen to Kagome.

Kagome's eye began to glaze over as a vision came to her, although it wasn't of her power's doing. It was someone else doing this. Another demon. Kagome sat in the darkness that surrounded her. It was misty and grey, and she could barely see anything. She was running from something, and she screamed in fear and cried for help but no one came to her. No Inuyasha would save her.

She realized that she was in a forest. Twigs snapped and leaves crunched underneath each step she took, and she kept tripping and falling. She had cuts and scrapes all over her arms and legs, but she continued pushing through. Kagome tripped over a rock and fell into a tree, and a few moments later her shirt got snagged and torn on a thornbush. She came to a river, and across from that, a canyon. She had met a dead end. There was no way that she could be out of harm's way in time.

Kagome splashed across the river and put her back to the cliffside. Tears of fear and misery streamed down her face, flowing ever harder as the thing that had been chasing her crashed through the trees at last. It was a demon dressed in a red haori and hakama pants, and had long silvery hair. When it looked up at Kagome, her terrified chocolaty brown eyes were greeted with crimson red ones with blue pupils. It smiled menacingly at her, and flexed its claws.

Kagome began to cry harder, knowing that this would be her end. How could it not? Inuyasha couldn't save her, because this _was_ Inuyasha. "Inuyasha," Kagome pleaded, "please don't do this!"

"Do not attempt to place pity on yourself, wench." Inuyasha snarled, "You cannot escape. Now that my full demon powers are at their full potential and that pesky human heart of mine has been locked away for good, there is no reason for me to spare you."

"Inuyasha, you can't do this!" Kagome cried. "This isn't you! I know that the human part of you is still in there somewhere. You don't want to kill me. You love me, and I love you! Please!"

" 'Inuyasha, Inuyasha'," The demon imitated, "Oh, give it a rest. Can you not see that the Inuyasha you know is no longer here?"

"He has to be." Kagome whispered, "You are a liar. You are not Inuyasha!"

" 'Tis a bit of a pity, that. I know who I am, as do you, and even though we were once, according to my old hanyou memories, in love, I shall not listen to this any further." Inuyasha roared, unsheathing Tetsaiga. It became its full demon form, and Inuyasha adopted a battle stance. He licked his lips as he laughed, "I'm really gonna enjoy this." Then, he raised his sword, shouting as he brought it down, "WIND SCAR!" Kagome saw the yellow streaks streaming towards her and knew that there was no way to avoid the attack. She was going to die there, at the hand of the man she once loved. She closed her eyes, prepared to take the blow, and her whole world slowly faded to black.

_"Am I dead?"_ Kagome thought. She didn't open her eyes. She felt as though she was suspended in blackness.

"**KAGOME!**" Inuyasha's voice shouted, clouded with anger and frustration and fear. "**KAGOME, PLEASE! TRY TO FREE YOURSELF!**"

_"Inuyasha?"_ Kagome questioned,_ "Didn't he kill me? Why does he sound so concerned?"_ Kagome felt her arms and head bumping up and down on something. She forced her eyes to open, and the darkness of nightfall came into focus. _"Oh yes!"_ Kagome thought, _"I remember now. It was merely a mirage set upon me by demons."_

She drew in a deep breath through her nose. The rancid scent of rotting meat and other foul things entered her sensitive nostrils. _"Demons!"_ Kagome screamed, _"I've been captured by the demons!"_

"**KAGOME!**" Inuyasha cried again. Kagome focused all her thoughts on the demon who was holding her. She blocked out all thoughts, sounds, and surroundings. She willed her mind to hear the demon's thoughts. Faintly at first, but growing louder by the minute, she heard a gruff voice in the back of her mind.

_"This girl is dinner tonight. She won't be much of a feast, but better than that pesky hanyou."_ Kagome focused deeper into its thoughts, and began to see, underneath its thoughts, its memories. She dug even deeper. She began to tap into its senses. She was beginning to see through its highly untrained eyes, hear through its ears, and smell with its poor nose.

Kagome used all the strength she could muster to tap into its movements. Slowly, she felt its legs walking, and its legs became her legs. She felt its arm around her body, and soon its arms, too, became her arms. She came to a stop and turned around. She dashed toward camp, her now limp body dangling in her arm. When she reached camp, she saw Inuyasha slumped by her sleeping bag. He was wounded, though how badly she couldn't quite tell yet. "Inuyasha." She said in a gruff voice. He turned to face her, although he didn't know it was her.

"Give me back the girl and I'll consider sparing your life." Inuyasha threatened menacingly.

"Inuyasha," Kagome said, "it's me, Kagome. I managed to tap into this demon's body and I'm in control of its thoughts, movements, and senses."  
"Nice try, demon, but you're not fooling me." Inuyasha said, "Now give me back the girl."

"_He still doesn't believe that it's me…"_ Kagome thought_, "I'm going to have to go at this from a different approach." _She looked at Inuyasha and said, "Fine. If you don't believe that it's me, then quiz me."

"Now you're talking nonsense, demon." Inuyasha laughed.

"Just do it." Kagome said, annoyed.

"Fine…" Inuyasha mumbled, "I have only one question. Describe my family."

"That's not really a question, but okay." Kagome sighed with relief. This would be a piece of cake. "You have only one sibling, a brother named Sesshomaru, and your mother Izayoi and father InuTaisho are both dead."

"That one was too easy…" Inuyasha muttered. "Fine, _'Kagome'_, if that's really you in there, then go back to your own body." Kagome did as she was told in an instant. The demon whom she had controlled had long lost consciousness, ever since Kagome had taken over, so it began to fall to the ground. After using such a large amount of power, Kagome herself was drifting in and out of consciousness. Inuyasha wrapped his arm around her as soon as the demon began falling. "I guess that really was you, huh?" Kagome didn't answer. Her eyes were closed and her head was hanging limply in his grasp. "Kagome?" Her breaths were coming in small, shallow intakes. She could very slowly feel her body going numb.

"_**NO!**__"_ She screamed in her head, _"I can't die! Not now!"_

"**KAGOME!**" Inuyasha shouted, shaking her. It was no use. She couldn't say anything or move._ "I have to get that flower. She's dying."_

Kagome's heartbeats were slowing, and Inuyasha's feet were moving as fast as they could go. Inuyasha was racing against the clock. He reached the top of the mountain, only to be greeted by a wave of purple and green. It was dark, and the flower was only visible in the daytime. The mission was virtually impossible. Kagome only had a few minutes left, at least. He set Kagome down in the grass and field of lilacs. **"WHERE IS IT?"** Inuyasha bellowed, tearing at the plants. He ripped up flowers and grass, searching desperately for the flower. Kagome's heartbeat was beating slowly. Too slowly. **"WHERE IS IT?" **he repeated. Kagome's breaths were growing shorter, softer, dimmer…

She focused the remains of her energy on the flower. Her psychic demonic energy, not visible to anyone, searched for the flower. It left her body, in a final attempt to search, bouncing around the flowers. Her breath drew in sharply. Inuyasha picked up the sound of it and desperate tears formed in his eyes. He ripped up the flowers faster, pulling up roots, petals, leaves, stems…Kagome floated out of consciousness for the last time.

Just then, a speck of light, about the size of a piece of dust, began to glow in the middle of the flowers. Inuyasha looked up, the light having caught his eye. Inuyasha followed the thread sized light. He knelt down on the spot, and saw a faint glimmer in the darkness. He held out a shaking hand and discovered the invisible form of a flower. With a firm grip, Inuyasha plucked the flower, sending off the light, which was, though he didn't know it, the final fragment of Kagome's life energy.

As Inuyasha began making his way swiftly across the meadow, Kagome exhaled her final breath softly and slowly. Her heartbeat drew to a stop. The clock had ticked its last second away. Kagome was out of time.

Inuyasha ran over to her. "**NO!**" He roared, shaking her lifeless body, "**YOU ARE NOT DEAD! WAKE UP!**" Inuyasha held her to his chest. "I promised you that you wouldn't die…" he whispered, "Kagome, I'm so sorry."

His grip on the flower tightened, and it became so tight that the flower began to break. The pieces, as they broke, turned into a stardust of sorts. The dead hanyou's form was spread out across his lap, and the shining dust began to settle over her features. Dawn began to break through the darkness, and the sun's early rays only reflected the tears of sorrow in Inuyasha's eyes as they fell onto the lifeless body's face. They mixed in with the stardust, and it began to soak into Kagome's skin.

As the sun grew higher in the sky, the light began to touch the body sprawled across Inuyasha's lap. It started with the white tipped dog ears on her head. They slowly shrunk back and disappeared. The white streaks in her hair were replaced with black, and the demonic claws shrunk back into human fingernails. _"What's happening?" _Inuyasha thought.

His question was greeted by a heartbeat. Followed by another. And another. The pale face Inuyasha had become to know for the past month slowly regained its rosy tint, and the colorless lips became reddish again. Inuyasha watched as Kagome's chest began to rise and fall as she began breathing, and a relieved smile crept across his face. His was matched with her fangless one, and his amber eyes were soon met with a set of chocolaty brown ones. "I'm back." Kagome said, sitting up. She wrapped her arms around Inuyasha's neck. Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her to him.

"Welcome back." He whispered.


End file.
